The Coen brothers once managed to make North Dakota interesting. Upton Sinclair did the same with the meatpacking industry.

But last Saturday, Darlington Nagbe pulled off the greatest feat of all: He made soccer exhilarating.

If you haven’t seen footage of the Portland Timbers midfielder lifting the ball off the goalkeepers’ volley, then rifling it into the upper-left corner of the net, you are contractually obligated as a sports-page reader to devote the next 44 seconds of your life to YouTube.

If, however, you have already witnessed the MLS goal of the year, then please enjoy this list of the Top 10 all-time plays involving Portland/Vancouver area teams. That’s plays — not games or performances. One singular moment.

Please keep dissenting opinions to a 10-exclamation point limit.

No. 10 — 2005: Jeff Rice’s touchdown reception to lead Camas High past Tumwater.

The Papermakers were stunned when Tumwater took an 80-yard kickoff return to the end zone with less than three minutes to go, putting Camas down 23-20 in the Class 3A district playoff game. But Rice returned the shock when he reeled in a pass from Scott Hagensen in the corner of the end zone with 40 seconds remaining, capping a 69-yard drive that lifted his team to a 27-23 victory.

Sorry Jerry, as far as receivers go in Camas, you’re the second most famous J. Rice

No. 9 — 1976: June Jones’ last second touchdown pass to Dave Stief in Portland State’s one-point win over Montana.

From one future NFL player to another.

There were more than 16,000 on hand in Civic Stadium when the Vikings fell behind 49-44 with 3:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. Thirteen plays and three red-zone penalties later, quarterback June Jones took the final snap of the game and tossed a two-yard scoring pass to Stief to give Portland State the 50-49 victory.

The point after was not attempted. No word on whether the over/under was 99.5.

No. 8 — Danielle Clauson’s inbound/jump shot that vaulted Concordia to the Cascade Collegiate Conference championship.

When we’re talking NAIA women’s basketball, you know something spectacular happened.

In February, the Cavaliers were tied with College of Idaho with 0.7 seconds left in the conference title game. And while inbounding the ball, Clauson, the conference player of the year, noticed the on-ball defender had her back turned. So she chucked the ball off of her posterior, grabbed it after stepping back inbounds, and flung a 10 footer that dropped in, secured the championship, and sent Concordia to the NAIA tournament.

SportsCenter selected it as the No. 1 play of the day. Appropriate for what was literally the comeback win of the year.

No. 7 — 2000: Double play to send Hazel Dell to the Little League World Series.

Hazel Dell entered the seventh inning leading Ocean View of California 3-0. A few minutes later, it led 3-1 with opposing runners on second and third.

Then, an Ocean View player slapped a ground ball to shortstop Greg Peavey, who threw to first baseman Korey Dunkel for the forceout as the third-base runner scored. But upon seeing the second-base runner take off, Dunkel lasered the ball to third baseman Jeremy Dunham, who applied the tag and punched Hazel Dell’s ticket to Williamsport.

A night of heavy Capri Sun drinking ensued.

No. 6 -- 2011: Darlington Nagbe’s goal against Sporting KC in a losing effort.

If Nagbe were Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney, this previously-described work of art might very well be the soccer play of the year. And neither he nor the aforementioned greats would be able to repeat the feat given 1,000 chances.

Seconds earlier, Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen poked the ball out of the box, only to watch Nagbe trap it beautifully mid-flight, juggle it twice, then fire it into the goal.

Simply brilliant. And how often do you get to say that a 20-year-old has a bright future, but that it’s likely all downhill from here?

No. 5 -- 2008: Dex Homer’s blocked field goal and Mitch Saylor’s return to lead Union High past Ferndale.

Fitting that two undefeated teams would be tied in the final seconds of the Class 3A state quarterfinal game. But when Ferndale lined up for a 44-yarder, you could hear the team bus revving its engine for the ride home.

Then, Homer timed the snap impeccably, Saylor scooped up the deflected football gracefully, and the Union sideline screamed uproariously as he ran it 65 yards for a touchdown.

Final score: Union 21, Ferndale 14. Good luck forgetting these Titans.

No. 4 -- 1980: Kermit Washington’s half-court, alley-oop pass to Billy Ray Bates to lift the Blazers past Philadelphia.

Dick Clark had a tough act to follow.

Memorial Coliseum was rockin’ on this New Year’s Eve eve, but not when Julius Erving made two free throws with one second left to put the Sixers up 108-107. Enter Washington, who threw a 47-foot lob pass to the skywalking Bates, who flipped it in as time expired.

Andre Miller and Nicolas Batum successfully re-enacted this play against the Spurs last March, the only difference being that the game was tied when Batum scored the buzzer-beating bucket.

They get a hat tip nevertheless, although it’s possible not making this list ruined the moment for them.

No. 3 -- 2008: Brandon Roy’s buzzer-beater against Houston.

Blazer fans would say that picking their favorite Brandon Roy moment is like picking their favorite child, but this one shines brightest.

The three-time All-Star had already hit a jumper to give Portland a two-point lead with 1.9 seconds left in overtime, but when Yao Ming answered with a 3-point play to put the Rockets ahead by one with 0.8 remaining, that’s when the Blazers frontman began posing for his close-up.

Roy received the inbounds pass from Steve Blake 30 feet from the rim, somehow released the ball on time, and watched it sail through the net without grazing the rim.

No one questions it was a great shot. The only question now is: Will it wind up his greatest?

No. 2 -- 2002: Christine Sinclair’s national-championship winning goal for the University of Portland.

It doesn’t sell out the Rose Garden every game like the Blazers, or have its own army like the Timbers, but there is no more dominant program in the Portland/Vancouver area than the Portland women’s soccer team.

The signature moment for the Pilots came nine years ago, during legendary coach Clive Charles’ final game, when Sinclair rebounded her own shot in sudden death and punched it in the net for a 2-1 win over Santa Clara.

It was Portland’s first of two national titles. Sinclair, considered one of the top strikers in the world, recently represented Canada in the World Cup.

No. 1 -- 1991: Rodney McCray running through the center field wall during a Portland Beavers game.

Talk about a breakthrough moment.

Yes, McCray was playing for the then Triple-A Vancouver Canadians, and yes, he ended up dropping the ball. But what he did at Civic Stadum 20 years ago goes beyond mere Pacific Northwest immortality.

Beavers second baseman Chip Hale ripped a shot to center field that McCray tracked down and briefly held before barging straight through the fence. The runners advanced and Portland eventually won the game 4-2. However, considering McCray — who took 14 at-bats in the Major Leagues and coaches in the Dodgers’ minor league system — is still asked about the play today, it’s safe to call him a victor that night.

Matt Calkins is a sports writer for The Columbian. He can be reached by phone at 360-735-4528 or e-mail at matt.calkins@columbian.com

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